Bus Services (No.2) Bill

On Monday 2^nd June, the House of Commons debated the Bus Services (No.2) Bill which will give wide ranging new powers to local authorities, including Stoke-on-Trent City Council, to make significant interventions into the provision of local transport.

The Bill will provide Stoke-on-Trent City Council with the ability to establish a new municipally owned bus company, to franchise routes from existing private sector providers and establish socially necessary local services.

I hope and anticipate that once the bill has received Royal Assent, that the City Council will use all the new powers to deliver improvements to the bus network across Stoke-on-Trent.

The City Council has received record levels of investment into the public transport network. The £31 million received between 2022 and 2024 has been used to rebuild part of the network that was devastated by the privatisation.

The 2024 allocation of almost £10 million was a welcome addition by the Labour Government. I welcome the decision to spend this money on improvements to bus stops, capping fares and increasing routes.

The trend in user figures is clear – more people are using buses, and more buses are on the road. This is something we should jointly celebrate.

In order to further improve the bus network and the user experience in the City, I have asked Stoke-on-Trent City Council to consider the following proposals.

1) Reinstatement of bus lanes at key junctions.

The last Conservative administration actively removed bus lanes from pinch-points in the city which means that bus users sit in traffic like all other vehicle users. Reinstating bus lanes would not impact on the flow of other traffic but would provide an advantage to buses which would help improve bus efficiencies and provide a benefit to choosing a bus over a car.

2) Activate the electronic displays in bus stops.

I understand that the electronic displays in bus stops around the city are ready to use but a disagreement inside the council is preventing them from being turned on. Real-time information about buses approaching stops, delays on the network or rerouting arrangements would be incredibly beneficial to users.

If the system is ready to be used, it ought to be turned on immediately and a plan developed for its roll out to all bus stops within the city.

3) Return the pre-9:30 use of bus passes

Holders of concessionary bus passes have, since 2012, been unable to use their pass before 9:30am. According to the 2012 Cabinet papers, this cut saved just £100,000 per year. Given the multimillion-pound settlement that has been provided to the City Council from the Government, I would suggest that reinstatement of the ability of concessionary bus pass use before 9:30am would be both affordable and broadly welcomed by users.

4) Roll-out a capital program of bus shelter installation and renewal.

The bus improvement plan funding should be used, alongside existing City Council capital funding, to improve the state of bus shelters. Too many shelters are tired and broken. Often with graffiti, broken seats and smashed windows. Too many stops are also completely unsheltered. In order to get more people into the bus system, we need to make that entry points feel as attractive and safe as possible.

5) Ensure no resident is more than 10 minutes walk / 250 meters from an active bus stop to enter the network.

One of the biggest barriers to accessing the bus network in the city is that for too many of the communities that I represent in Stoke-on-Trent Central, they do not live close to an active bus stop. Areas like Meir Hay, Eaton Park, parts of Northwood, parts of Sneyd Green, parts of Fenton currently require a long walk to reach main roads to pick up a bus.

A commitment and plan to ensure that everyone can walk to a bus stop within 250 meters of their home would be a revolutionary step and ensure that some of the largest residential areas of the city which are currently locked out of the network can start to benefit from better buses.

My aspiration for my constituents is clear. I want everyone to have close access to a reliable network of affordable buses which can be used at the times of the day that suits the passenger.